


The Last Piece

by AlanTryth



Category: The Elsewhere Universe
Genre: Dreamers, Elsewhere Assignment, F/M, Fantasy, Shenanigans, Short Story, The Elsewhere Incorporate, sneaky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2015-08-21
Packaged: 2018-04-16 11:08:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4623093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlanTryth/pseuds/AlanTryth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Have you ever been working on a puzzle, only for some bozo to run in at the last minute with the last piece and take all the glory? This short story is why a Dreamer's 'score' is based on his or her actions instead of their completion rate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Last Piece

The puppet-lord hung in the air like a marionette, his arms moving jerkily as though controlled by one not accustomed to their manipulation. Once fair and even handsome in a cold way, the puppet-lord’s corpse was now bloated and covered with cracks that showed nothing but darkness beneath the creature’s skin. Rows upon rows of needle-like teeth were bared as the horrible creature snarled at the intrepid heroes who faced it.

“Kinda funny, isn’t it?” One shouted over the hiss of stream steam that filled the chamber. “Mister ‘I manipulate the strings of fate’ ending up as the biggest puppet of them all.”

“Yeah, really poetic.” The elvish sorceress said through clenched teeth, her crystal staff exuding a purple-tinged glow that enveloped her and her companions. She flinched as the puppet-lord’s engorged hand slammed against the magic shield. “Any chance you can hurry up and think of a way to kill the bastard?”

“Working on it.” One peered through the flames filling the chamber with difficulty.  The blue-green streams of steam energy escaping from seams in multiple pipes hinted that the stream generator was about to become an issue. He considered using this to his advantage, but decided against it; the stream generator was directly beneath the city’s busiest district; if it went, a sizable chunk of the city would be going with it, to say nothing of his companions, Lena and Gregor.

He glanced at the short form of Gregor, who was busily digging through his backpack, presumably for some artifact or object that might give them a way out.  While the young archivist had managed some impressive feats, One feared nothing in the fellow’s bag would be enough.

It was a shame; One had enjoyed the assignment.  Gregor was a jolly fellow who never let his dwarfism inhibit him in anything he did, even his repeated attempts to woo the sorceress Lena.  Lena was quite a refreshing change from the usual archetype as well; she hadn’t questioned him in the slightest, even after his slip up in the Boverstall Marketplace.  She knew he was something more than a simple traveler, and had accurately guessed his presence had something to do with her and Gregor’s mission to stop the puppet king.

The three of them had made quite the team; Lena’s magic, Gregor’s strange affinity with anomalous artifacts, and One’s technical and Elsewhere know-how brought them past the gates of the Locked City, into the puppet-king’s throne, and now directly fighting to save the fates of thousands.

There was one thing he could do; invoking his Anti-ka Maru would leave him powerless for awhile, but would give him the strength to defeat the creature and save his friends. That was a last-ditch option, however, and he wouldn’t go that far unless he was certain there was no other way.

That’s when he saw it; the beast passed through a spray of stream escaping from the pipes, and as it did so, One saw the escaping stream follow; it wasn’t mere coincidence; the foul thing was absorbing it, growing stronger as it pulled more of the stream into itself.

Lena must’ve noticed it as well, as she soon shouted, “The generator!  It’s absorbing the energy!  If we shut it off-”

“-it might starve the damn thing!” Gregor finished. 

“Guys, hurry!” Lena said, visibly struggling to maintain the protective field. 

Unfortunately, it was too late; the puppet king brought both fists down on the magical bubble with enough force to shatter it and slam into the ground with enough force to knock Lena, Gregor, and One off their feet. It approached Lena, its twisted body crouched low and its maw open as though to devour her whole.

“Oy, Ugly!” As the creature turned, Gregor leapt onto the Puppet King’s gangly neck and pulled his now-empty backpack over the monster’s head. The puppet king roared and staggered away from Lena, its arms sweeping in vain as the elven sorceress moved out of its range. 

“One!” Gregor shouted, “Go for the console!  I’ll keep it busy!"

Nodding, One powered up his tek-boots and dashed toward the generator’s controls, narrowly ducking under another sweep of the puppet-king’s claws.

Leaping over the railing surrounding the controls, he scanned the console briefly before finding the emergency deactivation button.  As he raised his hand, however, another hand slapped over red plunger, sending a loud warning klaxon echoing through the chamber. One barely had time to register the smile on the face of Narrator Number Two before the stream generator rumbled to a halt, the steam escaping from the pipes ceasing a few moments later.

The puppet king turned toward the generator, no doubt sensing the loss of its power source.  It staggered in the direction of the generator, despite the fact that Gregor still had his bag over its head.  It fought to throw him off as it walked but only managed to injure itself as its limbs crashed into the metal pipes that formerly carried stream energy across the city.

Without the stream energy, the creature’s limbs grew thinner by the moment.  It eventually managed to drag Gregor off its shoulders and hurled him to the ground, prompting a panicked cry from Lena. With a final anguished roar, it took a step toward the fallen man, only for its spindly legs to shatter under the force.  It collapsed on top of Gregor in a broken heap that wheezed for a few moments before finally lying still.

“Gregor!” Without a second glance at Two, One leapt from the console platform and hurried over to his friend.  He hefted the corpse of the puppet king off the ground and tossed it aside as Lena knelt beside Gregor, her hand on the side of his neck.

“His pulse is strong.” She said, worry in her delicate features.  She leaned down and held her ear over his mouth, only for him to swiftly kiss her on the cheek. Relief mingled with annoyance on her delicate features, Lena sat up and slapped Gregor’s cheek. 

“Totally worth it.” The little man said, grinning from ear to reddened ear as One helped him up.

They stared at the corpse of the puppet king for a long moment before Gregor asked, “So … that’s it?”

“I guess so.” Lena said uncertainly. “We already destroyed the artifact that turned him into this.  With the puppet king himself dead, all held in thrall should be free.”

More silence followed.  “Seems like there should be, I dunno, more fanfare.” Gregor said, rubbing the back of his head. “I mean, we just saved the city, didn’t we?”

“Perhaps a parade is what you desire?” Lena asked, a kind smile on her face. “Our actions today have left the world a better place.”

“Yeah, I know.” Gregor said, “And I’m glad, really.  He needed to be stopped before anyone else was hurt. I just-”

To his surprise, she knelt down and brought his face to hers. One couldn’t help but smile as his two friends kissed. He had long suspected that Lena was harboring some affection for Gregor, and Gregor had been all too willing to confide in One about his feelings for her.

When they released, Gregor gulped and said weakly, “Does this mean you’ll go out on a date with me?”

“Don’t push your luck, little man.” She walked toward the heavy iron doors that led out of the chamber for a few moments before adding, “Yet.”

“All right.” Gregor said, snapping back to his usual cheery self, “C’mon, One! Let’s go get something to eat.”

“I’ll catch up with you later.” One said, patting Gregor on the shoulder. 

Beaming, Gregor jogged after Lena, unaware of the envelope One had just stuck on his back. One hated drawn out goodbyes, and figured the two had plenty to talk about on their own without him hanging around.

Shaking away the light feeling of Story’s End, One walked back to the generator’s control console, where Two was waiting.

“Well look who finally decided to show up.” One said, his hands on his hips. “Are you just bored, or did you run out of prostitutes?”

“Of course not. There’s no upper limit on debauchery, man.” Two glanced at his watch. “That reminds me; I’ve got an appointment in about an hour.  I’ll spare you the details. Wanna get something to eat before then to celebrate me successfully completing this assignment?”

“Your successfully completing this assignment?” One said, unable to believe what he was hearing, “You disappeared months ago!  We hadn’t even met Gregor yet!”

“Ah, but I pushed the emergency shutdown button.” Two said, cracking his knuckles.  “Not too shabby, eh?”

“You pushed it a second before I could.” One said, his eyes narrowing.

Two shrugged. “I was still first, which means that I saved the day and deserve all the credit for the assignment. See?”

Two held out his cellphone; on the screen was a chart displaying Dreamers and their completed assignments. One, who didn’t particular pay attention to the completion chart, was startled to see his own bar surprisingly low, while Two’s bar was quite high. It didn’t take long to put the pieces together.

“Flipping the switch on Trask.” One said as realization stole over him, “Closing the valve on Algos, stopping traffic in Masske.  You’ve been taking all the credit for all the assignments we’ve worked on just because you did the last task?”

“Hey, relax, One!” Two said smoothly. “We can’t all be the best.”

One could only glare at his partner for a few moments as the CPD formed on the nearby wall. 

As they started for the door, Two put his arm around One’s shoulders and said, “Besides, it’s not about who gets the credit; it’s about helping people.  At the end of the day, you’ve made the universe a better place, and that’s what’s truly important.”

“Get stuffed, Two.” One said as they passed through the doorway.


End file.
